Police investigate after a 10-year-old boy shot a baby in St. Louis, Missouri (KSDK).
A 10-year-old Missouri boy found a gun under a mattress and fatally shot a 7-month-old baby in the head, leading to murder charges against the boy and the infant”s father.
Ca’Marion Pawnell, 19, is facing charges of second-degree murder, first-degree child endangerment resulting in death and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child by creating substantial risk. The alleged shooter, the 10-year-old boy, is facing a first-degree murder charge in juvenile court.
Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department responded just after 4 p.m. Friday to a home in the 8400 block of N. Broadway for a shooting. When they arrived, they found baby Kiyomi Parker suffering from a gunshot wound.
With no time to wait for an ambulance, cops placed Kiyomi into their police cruiser and rushed her to a hospital where doctors later pronounced her dead.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate KSDK, the boy knew that Pawnell had a gun under the mattress in a bedroom and had taken it out to play with before. On this occasion, the boy allegedly pulled out the gun and shot Kiyomi in the head. Police did not divulge the relationship between the boy and Kiyomi.
In an interview with detectives, Pawnell admitted that he owned the gun and that he stored it under the bed, the affidavit reportedly said.
Police said a 7-year-old also was inside the home at the time of the shooting.
Cops did not name the shooter since he was charged as a juvenile. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that under Missouri law, only juveniles over the age of 12 can stand trial as adults. He was taken into custody after the shooting.
Homicide and child abuse detectives are conducting a joint investigation.
Pawnell was arrested and taken to the St. Louis City Justice Center. His next court date is not yet listed.
